The Augmented Psychotherapy Training (APT) is a 15-month program that provides participants with the knowledge and skills required to practice psychedelic therapy in a legal, safe, and evidence-based framework.
In Psychedelic-Augmented Psychotherapy, altered states of consciousness are induced to promote the psychotherapy process. Altered states can be induced with pharmacological methods (e.g., psilocybin, ketamine) and non-pharmacological methods (e.g., breathwork, stroboscopic light). Integration-Focused Psychotherapy helps patients draw therapeutic benefits from psychedelic experiences that occur outside of the therapy setting. A related goal is to prevent and mitigate psychedelic-occasioned psychological harm.
The APT program follows a hybrid learning model: Over the course of 15 months, three intensive on-site trainings take place in Berlin, Germany. Furthermore, weekly online training sessions in a variety of formats are held over the entire duration of the program.
The MIND Foundation offers APT courses in English and German. The next English-language APT course will start on November 16, 2024. The next German-language APT course will start on March 08, 2025.
The APT program is a professional training for medical doctors, psychotherapists, and other mental health professionals.
After successful completion of the training, a certificate in Psychedelic Therapy (Integration-Focused and Psychedelic-Augmented Psychotherapy) is awarded.
The APT program is continuously developed by the MIND Foundation together with leading international experts from the field of psychedelic research and therapy. The faculty includes staff of the MIND Foundation and the OVID Clinic as well as external clinicians and researchers.
We offer monthly info events in English and German, moderated by members of the APT team. Attendees are given the opportunity to ask questions.
18. September 2024
16. October 2024
20. November 2024
The APT program follows a hybrid learning model: Over the course of 15 months, three intensive on-site trainings take place in Berlin, Germany. The on-site curriculum includes a varied program of theory units, practical exercises, and self-experience in altered states of consciousness. Furthermore, weekly online training sessions are held over the entire duration of the program. The online sessions include various formats: Lectures with leading international experts, a journal club, mentoring sessions with experienced therapists, and meditation training.
In addition to these formats, which follow a fixed schedule, APT participants complete the educational online program Molecules and the integration workshop Beyond Experience at their own pace.
The APT Program was developed following the principles of outcome-based education. The learning objectives pursued through the various learning formats are based on the following 12 APT Outcomes:
1. Apply psychotherapeutic concepts, methods, and attitudes in psychedelic therapy
2. Understand the scientific, medical, and philosophical foundations of psychedelic therapy
3. Understand the diverse cultural, social, and medical history of psychedelics
4. Comply with legal requirements and address ethical challenges
5. Understand and incorporate existential aspects of psychedelic experiences
6. Cultivate a learning-oriented attitude toward psychedelic self-experience and reflect on its relevance for shaping therapeutic processes
7. Cooperate and communicate professionally with colleagues in multi-professional teams and health care institutions
8. Prevent and mitigate adverse effects of psychedelics
9. Screen patients and plan treatments
10. Prepare patients for psychedelic experiences
11. Induce and accompany psychedelic experiences in appropriate settings
12. Support patients in the integration of psychedelic experiences and assist their transition to the post-treatment phase
The next English-language course will start on November 16, 2024.
The next German-language course will start on March 08, 2025. Learn more about the German-language course.
We are constantly screening applications and admitting applicants for upcoming APT courses.
A limited number of spots is available in each course, and the spots are being filled continuously. We recommend applying as early as possible.
You can reach us via phone or email. Please make sure to read through the admission criteria and FAQs first.
A growing number of clinical studies indicates that the therapeutic use of altered states of consciousness can be a promising addition to existing treatment options in mental health care. In Psychedelic-Augmented Psychotherapy,altered states of consciousness are purposefully induced to promote psychotherapeutic processes. As we explain here, Augmented Psychotherapy includes the following components:
Integration-Focused Psychotherapy helps patients draw therapeutic benefits from psychedelic experiences that have taken place (or will take place) outside of the therapy setting while also minimizing potential harms.
The APT program takes a transtheoretical approach that understands and conceptualizes psychotherapeutic processes from an integrative perspective. No specific psychotherapeutic orientation or school is emphasized over others.
Empirical psychotherapy research has identified a number of common factors that are thought to underlie the effectiveness of all psychotherapies. Following this view, the distinct methods used in different schools of psychotherapy are thought to harness the same or similar therapeutic mechanisms. One conceptualization of common factors that seems particularly useful for psychedelic therapy are the general change mechanisms of psychotherapy proposed by the psychotherapy researcher Klaus Grawe:
In our experience, the common factors perspective allows for productive discussions across different psychotherapeutic schools and traditions. It is also immensely helpful for understanding and making optimal use of the therapeutic potential of altered states of consciousness. The common factors perspective is therefore strongly emphasized in the APT program.
We teach a broad scope of methods to induce altered states of consciousness: Pharmacological methods include classical psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, etc.) and atypical psychedelics (ketamine). Non-pharmacological methods include breathwork, guided imagery, music, and stroboscopic light. The self-experience curriculum in APT currently includes ketamine as well as all of the non-pharmacological methods mentioned above.
The APT program covers all essential aspects of Psychedelic-Augmented Psychotherapy and Integration-Focused Psychotherapy. Hands-on practice, role-play, and case work are central elements of the program. Self-experience with altered states is also an integral part. The theoretical frameworks provided are discussed in connection with their clinical relevance and interlinked with experiential exercises.
Small-group online mentoring sessions (4-6 participants each) led by experienced therapists are an integral part of the APT program. Mentoring sessions focus on case discussions and include elements of clinical supervision. Participants are encouraged to use mentoring sessions to discuss current treatment cases.
The APT program includes of a total of 3 intensive training weeks in Berlin, Germany, and continuous online training sessions (lectures, journal club, mentoring sessions, and meditation training). Online sessions take place weekly on Thursdays (19:30 CET/CEST).
The program also includes the on-demand course Molecules that participants can attend in their own time. Participation in the integration workshop Beyond Experience is also required. If you have completed Molecules and/or Beyond Experience before enrolling in APT, you will be granted a corresponding discount on the tuition. Learn more about teaching contents and learning formats in APT here.
The three intensive training weeks take place on-site in Berlin, Germany. Since the intensive trainings involve experiential contents such as role-play, exercises, and self-experience with altered states (ketamine, breathwork, etc.), it is not possible to attend these trainings remotely.
If you miss an on-site training (e.g., due to illness), you will be allowed to attend the event with the next APT course.
To become certified, participants are required to attend a minimum of 80% of the program.
No, you will not be required to complete these programs again. The price you have already paid for will be discounted from your tuition fee for APT.
Each APT course includes a maximum of 32 participants. During the training, the group will often split up into subgroups for self-experience, mentoring sessions, role-play, groups discussions etc.
Information about the tuition fee is provided here.
No, participants are required to take care of their own accommodation and meals.
CME credits have been granted for the programs Molecules and Beyond Experience, which APT participants are required to complete.
CME/CE credits for the complete APT program are currently still pending. We expect to be awarded 100+ CME/CE credits for the complete program.
After successfully completing the APT Program, participants are awarded a certificate in Psychedelic Therapy (Integration-Focused and Psychedelic-Augmented Psychotherapy). Depending on their professional background, certified professionals are qualified to work independently and lead multiprofessional teams providing psychedelic therapy, or to work in such multiprofessional teams under the supervision of a medical doctor with training in psychotherapy or a licensed psychotherapist. The certificate covers breathwork-, ketamine-, and psychedelic-augmented psychotherapy. However, the certificate does not legally entitle you to work with medications or other pharmacological substances. This authorization is acquired through country- and region-specific approbations and is subject to corresponding legal regulations. We strictly require all APT participants to comply with the legal regulations applicable at their respective place of work.
The APT program teaches therapists to purposefully induce altered states of consciousness to promote psychotherapeutic processes. We teach different methods for inducing altered states of consciousness. Some of these methods are completely free to be used, and others are legally regulated. While non-pharmacological methods are at your disposal wherever you practice, ketamine-augmented psychotherapy is available to medical doctors in most jurisdictions. In most countries, the use of classical psychedelics such as psilocybin is still restricted to clinical studies and (in some counties) to so-called “compassionate use” licenses. However, with the imminent approval of several psychedelic substances, the legal situation in many countries is likely to change substantially in the next years.
We explicitly do not train therapists who work illegally in the underground, but professionals who adhere to the given legal frameworks.